David Lean

A consummate craftsman whose sweeping historical epics were mere backdrops for the larger-than-life characters that populated his films, director David Lean helmed some of the grandest movies ever mad...
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Years ago someone said to me, “If you want to hear some real stories about moviemaking, just talk to a stuntman.” I’ve since forgotten who actually gave me such sage advice, but he was dead on. Stuntmen and -women are the unsung heroes of the film industry, risking life and limb on a daily basis to make other people look good, rarely getting much acclaim (outside of the industry itself, at least) for their hard work. So if you ever find yourself in the same room as a stuntman, go buy him a drink; he'll tell you some wild shit.
Until that day, however, do the next best thing: buy Vic Armstrong’s biography, The True Adventures of the World’s Greatest Stuntman: My Life as Indiana Jones, James Bond, Superman and Other Movie Heroes. You may not actually know who Vic is as of this writing, but I guarantee you’ll be telling all of your movie-geek friends his stories when you finish reading his book. The man has not only led an incredible and fascinating life, but his impact on the film industry is indelible.
Who Wrote it: Vic Armstrong obviously had more than a little bit to do with his own biography, but he also wrote it in conjunction with the great British film historian Robert Sellers, who has written books like Hellraisers: The Wild Lives and Fast Times of Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson.
Who’s In It: Vic Armstrong, obviously. But the stories he tells involve more Hollywood greats than I can list in this small space. Stunt doubling for Harrison Ford, Christopher Reeve and half the actors who played James Bond; going to wild sex parties hosted by Burt Reynolds; meeting drug lords in South America; throwing Tom Cruise under a speeding truck; telling Steven Spielberg he’s wrong; being given a Quaran from Muammar Gaddafi ... The people Vic has worked with in his life are incredible, and the man has an equally incredible story about each and every one of them.
What’s It About: Vic Armstrong, obviously. But more than that, World’s Greatest Stuntman is about two core things: showing how different the movie industry used to be (and how it can never, ever be the same again) and explaining just how important and overlooked the roles of people like Vic are. And Vic’s attitude on both fronts shows just why he is indeed the best in the business.
Why You Should Read It: If you’ve got any kind of interest in old Hollywood and the way things used to be, then this is without question a must-read for you. Not only do his stories involve some of the best filmmakers that have ever lived -- David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, just to name a few -- but they revolve around how the nature of the business has changed. Things on set have become far more democratic. The absolute command that a director or an A-list producer had in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the lengths they would go to to get things done is mind-blowing.
Sure, everyone says, “They don’t make movies like they used to,” but that’s such a nebulous phrase. When you hear Vic talking about living on a movie set for over a year to film just a single sequence or about how other movies were in production for so long that many of the crew ended up marrying locals and having children before the films even wrapped, it’s painting a picture of a world that we can never go back to. But what’s great about Vic telling these stories isn’t that he’s some old man telling “back in my day” yarns; it’s that he’s been in the business for so long, he’s seen how it used to be, how it is today, and where it’s going next.
And if stories about the Hollywood of yesteryear aren’t your thing, don’t worry -- Vic has plenty of modern stories and insights to share as well. He was the second unit director on movies like Total Recall (for which he filmed some 1,200 setups, which is ridiculous), Starship Troopers (for which Paul Verhoeven said he should have been called his co-director), Gangs of New York, War of the Worlds and even two versions of Mission: Impossible III (he spent months working with Scarlett Johansson on stunts only to have the movie get cancelled without explanation).
Basically, think back on all of the awesome blockbusters over the last 20 years that were filled with practical stunt work. Not the CGI-laden crap that comes out today, but stuff that involves a real person jumping from, say, a horse to a Panzer tank; or driving cars through an ice palace (Die Another Day); or driving half a car through an office building (The Green Hornet). If you watch it and go, “Damn, that looks like it hurt,” chances are Vic was involved somehow. He’s been this unheralded savior of movie magic for decades, and hearing how he makes the incredible credible is a must for any film fan.

Today in Oscar bait: Jeremy Irvine and Helena Bonham Carter are in talks to join Mike Newell's adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations as Pip and Miss Havisham, respectively. Rowan Joffe (The American) is adapting the screenplay, a story of an orphan who becomes a young gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Many consider Great Expectations to be one of Dickens' best works, so unsurprisingly, this won't be its first adaptation. Back in 1948, David Lean directed an Oscar-winning black and white version. Followed by that was a contemporary remake, set in NYC and pretty poorly done (IMO) by Alfonso Cuaron. Then in 1999, Julian Jarrold made a Masterpiece Theatre version.
If you've made it this far without googling Jeremy Irvine's name, here's the scoop: he's a fresh face who makes his big screen debut later this year with Steven Spielberg's War Horse, which releases December 28. Apparently, Spielberg picked the young actor out of obscurity for that role, so he must be a pretty talented kid. That or his uncle is Harrison Ford or something.
Source: Variety

This week, I Am Number Four hits theaters and there’s only one thing that I can grasp on to about this movie: damn, that alien dude is hot. But hey, it’s not a bad hook. How many movies feature hot alien girls? So many movies do. So why not some hot alien dudes? I see no downfalls to this idea. There are fewer alien dudes that inspire something a little less like disgust and horror and more like the warm and fuzzies, but they’re out there. After a thorough excavation of alien men on film, here are my findings and a thorough report of their notable assets.
Johnny Depp as Spencer Armacost
The Astronaut’s Wife
This 1999 movie drew me to the theater for one reason and one reason only: Johnny Depp. He plays NASA Astronaut Spencer Armacost and pulls off the blonde look way better than his attempt in Secret Window. Anyway, Spencer goes on a mission to space, gets possessed by aliens and eventually transmits his alien form to his poor wife. Creepy right? But I mean, come on, it’s Johnny Depp. He’s even attractive when he dresses up as Willy Wonka. Alien babe, number one.
Zachary Quinto as Spock
Star Trek
I never thought I would say this, but in 2009, I walked out of the movie theater after having watched Chris Pine on screen for two hours and my first thought was, “Holy crap, Spock was hot.” True story. Zachary Quinto wasn’t anyone’s radar who wasn’t a Heroes fan, for the most part, but once he donned those pointy ears and that blue Starfleet jumper and started romancing Uhura, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who started to take notice.
Brandon Routh as Superman
Superman Returns
Maybe you forgot because he’s America’s favorite superhero, but Superman isn’t even American; he’s an ALIEN. Yup, and a good looking one at that. If this were two years from now, I’d probably have to bump Routh for the soon-to-be replacement, Henry Cavill, but this isn’t about future alien babes. Routh is almost cartoonishly handsome and looks pretty amazing in that suit; just keep the kryptonite away from him, okay?
Sam Worthington as Jake’s Avatar
Avatar
Okay, okay nerd patrol. I get that in the movie Jake is a human and the blue, muscular dude is his avatar, but clearly we’re being as superficial as possible here and if we want to get technical, he was still attractive at the end when he chose to go full Na’vi. This about looks and in the movie Jake’s avatar is strangely and undeniably attractive. (This is okay because he’s a humanoid creature. It’s not weird. I swear.)
Matt Dallas as Kyle
Kyle XY
Who needs a belly button? Certainly not Kyle XY. I’ll admit, a show about an alien teen who arrives on earth with less knowledge in his head than a newborn baby is a little ridiculous, but that’s not why anyone was watching. They were watching because even without a belly button, Matt Dallas is a babe. End of story.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tommy
3rd Rock from the Sun
Before you get creeped out, I should point out that we’re talking about the last few seasons of the show, when Joseph Gordon-Levitt was 19 and 20 years old, not the first few seasons when he was still 15 and chubby-cheeked. (To be fair, I was in middle school when the show was on, so I was allowed to think he was dreamy at the time.) Anyway, older Tommy (post 2000) was a certifiable cutie. There was no way we could have known he would end up looking like this by the time he reached his upper 20s, but he was definitely crushable.
David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newton
The Man Who Fell To Earth
Now, if you’ve never thought that David Bowie was attractive then feel free to skip on by this entry. In his feature film debut, Bowie played this alien who was sent to Earth in order to figure out a way to send water back to his home planet. Of course, he falls in love with a human while living on Earth, but he soon discovers the effects of greed and success. Yes, the film explores the darker side of life, but just look at that bone structure.
Jeff Goldblum as Mac
Earth Girls Are Easy
He may have looked like a taboo love child conceived after a weird experience for some dude and a parrot (or something) when he first falls from space into Geena Davis’ pool, but once they take him to the beauty parlor he looks just like a human under all that stuff! And he’s got all those lean muscles! And even though he’s Jeff Goldblum the fact that he’s an alien bumps him up into the hot echelon. Who knew?
Brenden Fehr as Michael Guerin
Roswell
This is really along the same vein as I Am Number Four, except this was a WB show. Roswell gave us three teenagers who were humanoid aliens sent to Earth to help one day save their dying race, but oh how those pesky teenager problems complicate things. The great thing for Michael and his fellow alien Max is that one of their alien powers allows them to hear people just by touching them which means MAJOR TEENAGE LUSTY GROPING in almost every episode. Some people may have chosen Max over Michael, but I’d tell them that he has HUGE ears. Blondie wins.
Matt Smith as the Doctor
Doctor Who
He’s a super smart, time-travelling alien Time Lord, he makes bowties look sexy, and get this: he’s British. Ding, ding, ding: we have a babe. I’ve also taken a moment to verify that he’s the most attractive actor to portray the Doctor yet (here’s hoping this becomes a habit). You should know that Doctor Who has enjoyed 11 versions since 1963, seeing a face new each time due to the fact that the Doctor can regenerate his body when he nears death. I know changing is part of his deal, but I think it’d be cool if they let the Doctor stay in Matt Smith form for a good long while. Can I be his companion? GERONIMO!

Academy members, take heed! Come 2012, it appears you already have your frontrunner for Best Picture. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mike Newell has signed on to direct the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel, Great Expectations, in 2012 -- the author's bicentennial year. Oscar-winners Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen will produce.
For those who only read the CliffsNotes for the book in high school and forgot what Great Expectations was about the day after they turned in that five-page essay they don't remember writing anyway, the story follows an orphan named Pip who ends up a young gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor. It's widely considered to be one of Dickens' best works.
Back in 1948, David Lean directed an Oscar-winning black and white adaptation of the book, and that was followed by another remake in 1998 -- this time modernized, set in New York City, and not very good -- directed by Alfonso Cuaron, starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert De Niro.
So, classic novel? Check. Well-known director? Check. Academy Award-winning producers? Check. Yup. Bring on Oscar. He'll like this one.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Former teen idol Cassidy was busted by Florida police last week (03Nov10) after his car was spotted weaving on and off the road. He failed two roadside sobriety tests and cops allegedly found a half-empty bottle of bourbon in the car.
He was subsequently booked and released on $350 (£230) bail.
Bonaduce immediately contacted Cassidy after the incident and he's determined to help his old pal through his troubles - because the 60 year old's unwavering support helped the red-headed actor through his own personal battles with drug and alcohol abuse.
He tells the National Enquirer, "I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for David Cassidy's unyielding friendship and support over the years. Years ago, when I was down and out and needed a job and a friend to lean on, David was there for me. I'll never forget that - I owe my life and career to him.
"So when I heard the shocking news about his arrest, I immediately called to let him know that I was there for him if he needed anything at all... This is probably a very difficult time for David, but I'm there for him no matter what."
Cassidy, who has previously admitted to seeking treatment for drinking in 2008, has denied being drunk at the time of his arrest, insisting he only had a glass of wine for lunch and took a painkiller hours before he was pulled over by cops.

Apocalypse Now is like the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde of feature films in that it’s equally ambitious and inspiring as terrifying and controversial. On one hand the Academy Award winning chronicle of the Vietnam War is a gargantuan Golden Age worthy production complete with the sweeping visuals epic action and scope of a David Lean or Cecil B. DeMille picture. On the other it is a deeply personal haunting introspective study of the nature (and specifically the corruption) of man the ways of the world and our place in it. The duality of the material is well represented in today’s “Full Disclosure” Blu-ray release which is as much an acknowledgment of the problematic project and its long-term legacy as a celebration of the film itself.
For fans of the movie the novel from which it is based (Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”) cinema students and historians this package is the quintessential collectors edition of Francis Ford Coppola’s massive masterpiece. The high definition transfer forged from the original negative materials is bold beautiful and bursting at the seams with vibrant color and picture quality so pristine you feel like you’re watching it in its awe-inspiring 70mm form. The sound is warmer and fuller than ever and you’ll notice that as much in the quieter character driven scenes as in the explosive money shots. More immersive than ever before Blu-ray is the best way to go deeper into the jungle than you’ve ever been.
I could go on and on about the significance and quality of the AV upgrades supervised by Coppola himself but the technical enhancements are not the reason that I consider this to be the best Blu-ray release of the year. As with most home entertainment releases the special features discs’ make or break the title and the “Full Disclosure” edition of Apocalypse Now which contains the most comprehensive collection of content related to the making of the movie and its place in film history is a winner. Let’s start with the 800 lb. gorilla in the package: Hearts of Darkness a feature length documentary co-directed by Eleanor Coppola and boasting behind-the-scenes footage so rare that Francis didn’t even know it existed.
This detailed account of the 238-day shoot is an epic in itself as it sheds light on all of the problems that plagued the production in the Philippines between March 1976 and May 1977. I’ve seen many making-of features over the years but none comes close to accomplishing what Hearts of Darkness does. You feel the sacrifices that the crew made and the pressures they faced as they filmed in hazardous conditions in a war-torn country. It’s a treasure-chest of insight into the creative and commercial aspects of filmmaking that is provocative and engrossing and will be cherished by future generations that will re-discover the film long after those involved with it are gone.
But that’s just disc three. Disc two features most of the fun stuff including candid interviews with screenwriter John Milius star Martin Sheen and Coppola (the interview with the auteur takes place at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and is particularly nostalgic considering that Apocalypse Now took home the Palme d’Or 22 years earlier). There are a handful of deleted scenes so good my biggest complaint is that they weren’t infused into the feature for this definitive collection. An especially memorable piece is the alternate credits sequence which shows Kurtz’ compound being destroyed while dozens of camera’s capture the chaos. Real buffs will marvel over Orson Welles’ take on “Heart of Darkness” which he read over the radio in 1938 (Welles attempted to craft a cinematic adaptation back then but couldn’t get it going; he made Citizen Kane instead.)
Every element of the production is covered via featurettes on sound color music and editing making this “Full Disclosure” release the final word on the challenging film but like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde there’s more than one side to the story that the special features tell. Whether your want to delve deeper into the history surrounding the subject matter or the cultural effect of the film there’s something for everybody in this amazing release. The cherry on top? A 48-page collectible booklet with production photos copies of documents timelines and more bringing you another step closer to the anarchy of Apocalypse Now.

The Slumdog Millionaire director will receive the British Film Institute (BFI) Fellowship for his contribution to the motion picture industry, following in the footsteps of previous recipients including Clint Eastwood, Sir David Lean and last year's (09) honouree Sir Ridley Scott.
Boyle says, "A significant helping of humility is called for in the face of this honour and that is not difficult considering those awarded it before. I am shocked, flattered and delighted to receive the Fellowship on behalf of everyone who has helped me make the films, the successful ones and the not so successful ones, and on behalf of all runts in every litter."
The director's latest movie 127 Hours is also in the running for the festival's coveted Best Film honour, competing against other nominees including Black Swan, The King's Speech and Never Let Me Go.
The festival runs from 13-28 October (10).

Today's Highs
Omar Comin’! (To NYC)
Are you a fan of The Wire and paintball? If so, Saturday is your lucky day. And you have a strange range of interests. But if you live in the NYC area and have $750 to spare, you can officially play a game of paintball with the cast of the Wire, courtesy of Jamie Hector. Hector, who played drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield, is throwing the fundraiser for his non-profit organization, Moving Mountains. He can call it a "friendly" game of paintball as much as he wants, but I'm still a worried that someone's going to end up shot in the head and left in the vacants.
Former cast-mates Michael K. Williams (Omar), Sonia Sohn (Kima), Felicia Pearson (Snoop), and Anwar Glover (Slim Charles) are also making appearances at the fundraiser. The announcement is vague, but I doubt that the actors will actually take part in the paintball. Which is a shame, since it would be great to see the Marlo-Omar showdown that never was, even in paintball form. But inevitably someone would take a headshot at Michael K. Williams, and we’re still really not okay with that.
For more information, check out the Moving Mountains Website. And because we'll take any excuse to run this clip:
Today In Girly Stereotypes: Standing On Chairs And Screaming
In this clip from Extras, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello and Maya Rudolf were promoting the upcoming Grown Ups when disaster struck. A snake decided to take matters into its own hands and rid the world of the cinematic disaster-in-the-making by viciously attacking the three actresses. Or at least that must be what’s happening off-screen, otherwise Maria Bello and Salma Hayek’s screaming freak-out is a completely over the top and uncalled-for. I have a newfound respect for Maya Rudolf though, who stayed calm and collected despite the shrieking banshees clinging to her head.
Today's Lows
Mr. T Pities The Fool Who Goes To See The New A-Team Movie
Mr. T may be a bad-ass dude, but he spoke out today against the new A-Team movie for being too “graphic.” T, who played B.A. Baracas in the original 70’s TV show, told reporters that the franchised had changed a lot since its family-friendly heyday. "People die in the film and there's plenty of sex, but when we did it no one got hurt and it was all played for fun and family entertainment. These seem to be elements nobody is interested in anymore” he continued.
The new A-Team is pretty tame by today’s action standards, getting away with a PG-13 rating, but it’s easy to see what Mr. T is talking about. I don’t have a problem with violence in films, but with movies like this it becomes a crutch for the film to lean on. Instead of developing a worthwhile story or interesting characters, they can always just throw in another slightly different fight scene. Kids can definitely handle seeing fake violence, and most of the time they even like it, but there’s other things that movies can show them too.
Sources: Warming Glow, The AV Club, Cinema Blend

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star stunned fans on Monday (03May10) after confessing he had cheated on his wife of nine years, Jaime Bergman, after an anonymous mistress threatened to sell her story to the press.
Now the actor and the former Playboy Playmate are working through their issues with the help of a counsellor, according to Boreanaz's mother-in-law.
Bergman's mum Sue Scallion tells E! news the couple has no plans to split up and is even relocating to a new house together.
Scallion explains, "They're getting ready to move into a new home. My husband and I are going to go to Los Angeles and help them move into their new house. They confide in us and they lean on us for support.
"My daughter's very strong. Jaime told me one day, 'Divorce just isn't an option.' They are going to make this work and keep the family together and raise the children.
"Jaime can see what would happen to the children and the family if they let something like this get a hold of them. They're not going to give in to it. Jaime and David, they've got a lot of work to do. But they love each other."
Scallion also reveals the couple is furious over the alleged extortion attempt, adding, "They are appalled... I think they want to take a stand against this and say, 'You don't have the right to do this.'"

From Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov Mongol tries to correct the story of Genghis Khan as presented in previous Hollywood disasters like The Conqueror and Genghis Khan. This fascinating look at Khan’s early years begins with his birth as Temudgin in 1162. The story methodically follows him from his harrowing and dangerous childhood all the way to the infamous battles that defined him. Bodrov’s portrait is also a love story covering Khan’s family life and marriage to Borte the only woman who truly understood him and knew what he could become. One of the film’s most successful sequences involves the abduction of Borte. Temudgin’s desperate and ultimately brave rescue is a spectacular action sequence in which he penetrates the enemies’ camp with thousands of horsemen. Eventually he is set on a path to seal his destiny against his own blood brother Jamukha. It’s a conflict that results in Temudgin’s slavery but eventual freedom to become Genghis Khan--the man who conquered more territory than any other warrior. Cast not with an eye for stars this telling of the Genghis Khan story has credibility going for it. Previous Hollywood versions have made the mistake of bringing in known actors such as Omar Sharif to play the role--and most notoriously John Wayne famously butchered interpretation of Khan in 1956’s The Conqueror. But in Mongol after a worldwide search Bodrov smartly cast Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as the adult Temudgin who makes Khan his own. As his blood brother Jamukha Chinese actor Honglei Sun acquits himself well while inspiration of inspirations a real Mongolian actress named Khulan Chuluun makes for a beautiful and forceful Borte. The international flavor of the cast oddly seems to actually add authenticity to the production when logic would say otherwise. Perhaps that is the ultimate tribute to director Bodrov. Sergei Bodrov is a powerhouse director. His previous films--including the acclaimed Prisoner of the Mountains and Nomad--do not prepare us for the breathtaking splendor and scope of Mongol. This is absolutely the kind of sweeping epic we might have expected from David Lean in his Lawrence of Arabia heyday. Even though the director did employ some CGI tricks for the massive battle scenes the mix of technology and humanity is flawless. Key to his success is the human dimension of a larger-than-life story that keeps us involved with characters who are truly heroic and the stuff of mythology. Special mention should go to the magnificent cinematography of Sergey Trofimov and Rogier Stoffers on a par with anything seen on the widescreen in many years. Tuomas Kantelinen’s inventive score is another plus for the impressive film.

Given Kodak Box Brownie camera by uncle at age 12, developed interest in photography

Graduated to newsreel editor; then put in charge of Gaumont Sound News

First film as co-director (with Noel Coward), "In Which We Serve"

Worked for father's accounting firm at the age of 19 (date approximate)

Began cutting feature films with "Escape Me Never"

Subject of British TV documentary, "David Lean: A Life in Film"

First film as solo director and first film as co-adaptor (with Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan), "This Happy Breed"

Summary

A consummate craftsman whose sweeping historical epics were mere backdrops for the larger-than-life characters that populated his films, director David Lean helmed some of the grandest movies ever made by Hollywood. After receiving his start as an editor, Lean segued into directing with smaller films like "Blithe Spirit" (1945) and "Brief Encounter" (1946), which often showed hints of the grand scale that was to come. Following excellent adaptations of Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" (1946) and "Oliver Twist" (1948), he went into a bit of a lull that nonetheless saw him make the compelling romantic drama "Summertime" (1955). But what followed was a series of three films that cemented his place as one of the greatest directors of all time, starting with "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" (1957), a widescreen WWII epic that displayed an unusual elegance despite its depiction of wartime prisoners suffering from a relentless and unyielding camp commander. Next was "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), an iconic historical drama about the adventures of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) that featured some of the most memorable images ever filmed, and went on to win numerous Academy Awards while earning its place as one of the greatest movies ever made. Lean followed this cinematic triumph with "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), a massive box office success that managed to tell a deeply intense personal romance set against the large scale turbulence off revolutionary Russia. After suffering a critical drubbing with his next film, "Ryan's Daughter" (1970), Lean waited 14 years to release his next film, "A Passage to India" (1984), which was a welcome return to the epic landscape previously occupied by "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" and "Lawrence of Arabia."<p>Born on March 25, 1908 in Croydon, England, Lean was raised in a Quaker household by his father, Francis, a senior partner at the accounting firm Viney, Price and Goodyear in London, and his mother, Helena, who hailed from a family of artists and inventors. When he was 15 years old, his parents split, leaving Lean with his mother while his father went off with another woman. Meanwhile, Lean attended Quaker schools and was at best a mediocre student. But he did have an early interest in photography that he maintained throughout his adolescence, though his parents considered it a mere hobby. Eventually Lean began working for his father's accounting firm once he was finished with school, only to quickly become bored. Convinced by a relative to follow his true passion, Lean wedged his way into Gaumont Studios, where he proved his worth as a teaboy for no pay during his first month. He was soon promoted to clapperboy and eventually worked his way up to assistant director. After befriending the projectionist, Lean squeezed his way into the cutting room, where he learned how to edit newsreels as an apprentice.<p>Lean continued his upward trajectory by graduating to film editor after receiving his first credit on "The Night Porter" (1930). He went on to edit a number of films throughout the decade, including "Dreaming Lips" (1932) and "As You Like It" (1936), both with Elizabeth Bergner; "Pygmalion" (1938), staring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller; and "The 49th Parallel" (1941). Lean began collaborating with Noël Coward on "In Which We Serve" (1942), a moving study of wartime England that contrasted the duty to fight with the human sacrifice required to win, that he co-directed with the flamboyant playwright. He went on to solo helm a series of films based on Coward's plays, including "This Happy Breed" (1944), which followed a London family from 1919 to 1939; the rousingly entertaining "Blithe Spirit" (1945), a fantasy comedy about an author (Rex Harrison) who accidentally summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond) in the presence of his newly married second (Constance Cummings); and the quietly effective "Brief Encounter" (1945), a romantic drama about a bored housewife (Celia Johnson) who almost has an affair with a doctor (Trevor Howard) that earned three Academy Award nominations, including his first for Best Director.<p>Lean followed with two faithful adaptations of Charles Dickens, "Great Expectations" (1946) and "Oliver Twist" (1948), both exemplary translations of the author's work that starred Alec Guinness, with whom the director would work on many subsequent occasions. "Great Expectations" was the more widely hailed of the two, earning five Academy Award nominations, which included Best Director and Best Picture. Unfortunately, Lean soon entered into a career lull, and of his next three films, only the docudrama "Breaking the Sound Barrier" (1952), a fictional look at the titular historical moment, was noteworthy. His rollicking version of the stage comedy "Hobson's Choice" (1954), the story of a strong-willed woman (Brenda De Banzie) and her attempt to emancipate herself from her overbearing father (Charles Laughton), featured the first in a series of strong, independent female characters that would populate his later films. Lean earned his third Oscar nomination for Best Director with "Summertime" (1955), a romantic drama about a lonely American spinster (Katharine Hepburn) who falls in love while abroad in Venice, Italy with a married man (Rossano Brazzi). Again, the film featured a strong, independent woman in a lead role while also reprising one of Lean's central themes throughout his career: the physical journey as a quest for self-knowledge.<p>But all was prologue to Lean's most fruitful period, where he not only made his personal best, but also some of the finest films in cinema history. Collaborating once again with Alec Guinness, Lean directed the epic World War II adventure, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), which focused on a group of British prisoners of war held captive by the Japanese in Burma. Leading the POWs is Lt. Col. Nicholson (Alec Guinness), who demands that his soldiers behave by the book while refusing to cooperate with an equally iron-willed Japanese commander (Sessue Hayakawa). But when the Japanese commander forces the British prisoners to build a bridge, they band together to build the best one possible, only to find it targeted by an escaped prisoner-turned-saboteur (William Holden). Both commercially and critically successful, "Bridge Over the River Kwai" amassed a number of statues at the BAFTA Awards and Golden Globes before winning seven Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Director. Most importantly, the film initiated a cycle of big-budget spectacles would go on to define Lean's career and later his legacy.<p>Lean next accomplished a stunning cinematic feat with "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), a sweeping historical epic that followed the real-life adventures of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), a British officer who unified the Arab tribes to fight for independence from the Ottoman Turks in 1920, only to struggle with his personal identity, divided allegiances and overreaching ambitions. Grand in every sense of the word, "Lawrence of Arabia" was shot on 70mm - one of the last films to do so - and featured some of the most iconic images ever committed to celluloid, including the extreme wide shot of Omar Sharif emerging from the rising desert sun on a camel. Meanwhile, composer Maurice Jarre's haunting music was equally stirring, winning an Academy Award and cementing its place as one of the finest movies scores of all time. But it was the performance of Peter O'Toole in the role that made him a star that stood out among the many sterling aspects of the film. Starting off as a young, ambitious officer looking for adventure toward the end of World War I, O'Toole's Lawrence was at turns forceful and enigmatic, an iconic hero whose motivations remained unclear even to his closest friends. Though he failed to capture an Oscar for his performance, O'Toole's performance remained one of his best. As for Lean, he earned his second and last Academy Award for Best Director while "Lawrence" won the Oscar for Best Picture.<p>Rounding out his three greatest films, Lean directed a sterling cast that included Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger and Alec Guinness in "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), a sweeping romantic drama set against the backdrop of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Based on Boris Pasternak's novel, "Doctor Zhivago" focused on a Russian doctor and poet (Sharif), whose love for his mistress - a woman raped by a ruthless politician (Steiger) - transcends the turbulent history of a world war and the rise of Communist Russia, as well as his own marriage to the daughter (Geraldine Chaplin) of a middle-class family who took him in as a child. Though a huge box office hit upon its release - and one of the biggest of all time when adjusted for inflation - "Doctor Zhivago" received mixed critical reviews, mainly over issues of length and deviations from the source material. Still, the film earned a slew of award nominations, including 10 nods at the Academy Awards, where it won statutes for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score for Maurice Jarre, and Best Adapted Screenplay for scribe Robert Bolt. Prior to that, it earned Lean a Golden Globe for Best Director while also taking home the big prize of Best Picture - Drama.<p>Because of the success of "Doctor Zhivago," Lean decided to make another sweeping romantic drama set against turbulent historical events, only this time his film suffered a critical backlash that had a profound effect on his career. With "Ryan's Daughter" (1970), Lean told the story of an Irish pub keeper's daughter (Sarah Miles) whose loveless marriage to a local schoolmaster (Robert Mitchum) leads her to have an affair with a British officer (Christopher Jones), only to find herself swept into a scandal involving IRA insurgents. Because expectations were high, "Ryan's Daughter" was savaged by critics who were looking for the same grandeur of his previous three epics. Over time, however, critics softened their stance and came to embrace it as one of Lean's finer works. Nonetheless, the director would not release another film for 14 years. But when he did, Lean returned to the sweeping scale that defined him with the splendid adaptation of E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India" (1984). Set in the 1920s during the growth of the Indian independence movement, the film starred Judy Davis as a sheltered English woman who travels to India, where she strikes up a friendship with a doctor (Victor Banerjee), only to accuse him of rape following an expedition to a set of caves. All the while, the fight for Indian independence flares around them. Hailed as another masterpiece, Lean's film was well-received by critics and earned 11 Academy Awards, only to win two for Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and Best Original Score (Maurice Jarre). "A Passage to India" turned out to be the last film directed by Lean, who died on April 16, 1991 from throat cancer just weeks from helming an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's <i>Nostromo</i> after years of development. He was 83 and left behind a reputation as one of the greatest directors ever to have stepped behind a camera.

Name

Role

Comments

Francis William le Blount Lean

Father

married 1904, separated before 1927; Quaker; senior partner of accounting firm of Viney, Price and Goodyear in London

Education

Name

Notes

Lean's films earned 56 Oscar nominations and 28 Oscars. He was nominated as Best Director seven times and won twice.

"He wrote with light and composition until each of his films was the visual equivalent of great novels. His genius rests in the fact that his characters were never diminished by his epic action." --Steven Spielberg in The Hollywood Reporter, April 17, 1991.

"David can't wait to finish shooting a picture so he can begin cutting the actors out of it." --Trevor Howard, quoted in Lean's Variety obituary, April 22, 1991.

"I had very strong feelings about his work, because I am a longer-is-better kind of guy. ... He was willing to let the stories and scenes play out. He liked you to hear information. ... [His films] are not so plot-oriented, they are like the journeys of people." --Kevin Costner to New York Post, April 17, 1991.

"David is sweet--simple and straight--and strong and savage, and he is the best movie director in the world." --Katharine Hepburn in 1989, quoted in Lean's obituary in The New York Times, April 17, 1991.

"Lean was a meticulous craftsman noted for technical wizardry, subtle manipulation of emotions, superb production values, authenticity and taste. He was one of the very few directors who edited his own films, and he also adapted or co-adapted half a dozen of them." --Peter B. Flint in Lean's The New York Times obituary, April 17, 1991.

Lean left orders that his ashes be strewn over the three areas he loved most: India, Tahiti and Tuscany (where he planned to retire).

Named Commander of the British Empire Award for services to cinema in 1953.

Awarded L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1968 by the French government